Harbor Freight Tools finds a home in Bridgeport

Rob Varnon

Published 9:24 pm, Thursday, May 10, 2012

As hardware retailers across the nation shake off the recession, California-based Harbor Freight Tools has continued its expansion in Connecticut, opening up a Bridgeport store on the Huntington Turnpike.

The store, at 345 Huntington Turnpike, has been open for nearly two weeks and will celebrate a grand opening on May 16 at 11 a.m. It carries hand and power tools, car care supplies, building equipment, welding sets, home security products and solar panels.

The company was not immediately available for comment Thursday. It has seven stores in the state, including one in Orange. The Bridgeport location, along with new sites in Waterbury and New Haven, were leased through RHYS Commercial Brokers of Stamford.

Founded in the 1977, Harbor Freight, focusing on do-it-yourself craftsmen, has 400 stores nationwide and is a family-owned business that started as a mail-order business.

"These sites will allow Harbor Freight Tools to expand their brick-and-mortar business in markets with high demand for their products," said Tyler Lyman, senior associate with RHYS.

Despite the continued travails of the general real estate market, the home improvement retail sector is on the mend after the recession, according to Jesse Carleton, senior editor at Hardware Retailing.

"While some stores may have disappeared, the retailers that are still around (most of them I would say) had the opportunity to get stronger," Carleton said Thursday. "Also, people still need to fix their homes, so while they may not be building new homes, they're maintaining and upgrading the places where the live."

Hardware retailers have been expanding, nationally, he said, sometimes by moving into larger buildings or adding locations, depending on the market.

Massachusetts-based Aubuchon Hardware is another independent that Carleton said is in a strong position and looking for opportunities to grow. Aubuchon has two stores in northeast Connecticut.

"I think those forward-thinking retailers are expanding, even if the economy seems a little shaky, because they see the light at the end of the tunnel," he said. "They're optimistic and know that to grow, you have to be willing to invest and be ready for when the economy turns around and people are ready to buy."

The primary customer coming through the doors are those looking for low-cost power tools, Carleton said, but the typical independent store gets a mix of professionals and do-it-yourself homeowners.

"It's a real guy's kind of place," Eversley said after he visited the store.

He said it has a mix of building and auto repair tools and some things normally not seen in general hardware stores.

Eversley said Harbor Freight's opening bodes well for the city and the region.

The plaza that Harbor Freight moved into had lost some tenants during the recession, but is in good shape, Eversley noted, and it's an excellent location -- just off the Merritt Parkway and providing easy access from towns that have high home ownership rates.

He added: "I think there's a lot to be said about the general forward progress of the city."